COMMON LAW TRUST
Also known as Unincorporated Associations
I am pleased to provide the following in-depth analysis of one of the most powerful business tools I know of. This means of organizing and protecting one’s business dealings is rooted deep in British society and law… and by extension in our colonial history and dealings. All of the original colonial and subsequent State organization and activities were under the auspice of Unincorporated Associations (UA’s).
Unincorporated Associations formed the backbone of dealings in this country until the political party corporate takeover during the mid 20th century. This newer corporate mentality has undeservedly tainted the UA’s luster, but this is understandable, since the progressive democratic model advocates for centralized State and National control, which the corporation model fits well. As the following article points out, UA’s still provide all of the benefits and protections while offering the added bonus of privacy and insulation from government interference or over-reach.
I believe you will find it fascinating as well as liberating. Fascinating in learning about a way to conduct business and protect yourself… liberating in learning how to do it without direct government control (i.e. a corporate operating certificate).
Enclosed in the following essay are the tools to liberate Sovereign business dealings, while providing all the benefits and protections necessary.
ESSAY
THE COMMON LAW CORPORATION:
THE POWER OF THE TRUST IN ANGLO-AMERICAN
BUSINESS HISTORY
John Morley*
This Essay challenges a central narrative in the history of AngloAmerican business by questioning the importance of the corporate form. The Essay shows that the corporate form was not, as we have long believed, the exclusive historical source of powers such as limited liability, entity shielding, tradable shares, and legal personhood in litigation. These powers were also available throughout modern history through a little-studied, but enormously important, device known as the common law trust. The trust was widely and very effectively used to hold the property of unincorporated partnerships and associations in England and the United States both long before and long after the passage of general incorporation statutes in the mid-nineteenth century. The trust’s success in wielding corporation-like powers suggests that the corporation’s role in legal history was smaller than—or at least different from—the one we have long assigned to it. This Essay thus lays the groundwork for a new account of the corporate form and its place in the development of modern business.
Please click on the link below to access the complete Essay.
